FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Officers say a 709-carat diamond present in Sierra Leone has been offered for greater than $6.5 million. The diamond is claimed to be the 14th-largest ever found, in accordance with the Rapaport Group, which auctioned the stone in New York on behalf of Sierra Leone’s authorities.

The BBC experiences Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, gained the valuable stone at public sale. At an earlier public sale, the nation’s authorities rejected a bid of $7.eight million.

Based on the Rapaport Group, Graff “often does not purchase something that is not a D or E colour” diamond, however he “paid extra money as a result of he believes this diamond is a particular diamond.” He thinks it’ll “assist the poorest individuals on this planet.”

The corporate says 59 p.c of the cash will go to the federal government of the West African nation, whereas 26 p.c will profit the artisanal diggers who discovered the diamond. Its discovery in March prompted a sensation.

The Rapaport Group has dubbed the stone the “peace diamond” and says its sale “will present very important lifesaving infrastructure to the world the place the diamond was discovered.”

Based on the BBC, the federal government is predicted to make use of the cash to introduce a contemporary provide of water, electrical energy, medical care and roads within the village of Koryardu.